Shoe stiffener



Patented. Feb. I5, 1927.

{UNITED STATES PATENT OFFEE.

ALBERT CLAPP, OF DANVERS, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO I3EOKWITH MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,.A CORPORATION 01 MASSA- cnusn'rrs.

N Drawing.

This invention has relation-to stifieners for footwear; such for example as box-toe employed, it has been customary to temper the molded counter with water so that the heel-seat flange may be soften'ed and caused to conform to the heel-seat in the shoe-making operation. It is desirable, however, that counter stiifeners should be waterproof, and

I have discovered that it is possible to produce a molded counter stifi'ener, the main 9 body of Which is waterproof'but the skived edges of which may be softened and tempered by the addition of water thereto so asto facilitate the formation of the shoe and yet provide one in which the counter is unaffected by moisture.

Still another object of the present mvention is the utilization of the waste mater al 'of' stiffened box-toe material.

Usually, in the formation of stiffened boxtie blanks, it is customary'to saturate sheets -of cotton and wool felt with such gums as copal, sandarac, rosin, asphaltum. Mont'an wax and various other forms of solid hydrocarbons, (either alone or in various combinations) which impart stiifness to the blank the application of moderate heat. From sheets thus produced, box-toe blanks are cut. and consequently there is a large amount of waste hydrocarbon-impregnated felt. for which heretofore no use has been found; so that a further object of this invention is to utilize this waste material in the formation of shoe stiifeners.

I have found that it is possible to grind this waste box-toe material so as to produce a fibrous mass containing the gums or stiffening agent in a state of fine subdivision. This may be-accomplished in an Abbe grinding machine, to which from time to time a small amount of talc may be added to pre-v vent the knives or cutters from being coated with the waterproof gums. It is not -pos- 1 .sible to introduce the waste material directlyf and which are easily softened or fused'by.

' SHOE STIFFENER.

Application filed October 31, 1922. Serial no. 598,216.

to a heater engine, as the gums which are contained therein are water-repellent and will not disintegrate in the beater in' the presence of water, but, by grinding the boxtie waste while dry in an Abbe grinder or other suitable form of grinding apparatus, it is possible to disintegrate the fibrous material sufficiently and to release the gums so that they may be utilized in the formation of the new articles of-manufacture. Frequently such box-toe waste contains by weight of the stiffening agent, all -of which serves in the formation of a shoe stifiener according to the present invention.

I will now describe one example that is illustrative of the procedure which may be followed in producing shoe stiffener board and of the ingredients which may be utilized inthe formation thereof, but it will. beun' 'derstood that I am not limited to the details which I shall describe.

After grinding the waste box toe material 1 as previously described, so that it is in a state of relatively fine subdivision, 4:0 parts by weight of such wasteand 60 parts by weight of sulphate ulp (or other suitable papermaking fibers are introduced into a beater with sufficient water to ensure proper circulation of the stock.- With the beater .roll adjusted to the bed plate, this stockis beaten hard for at least 7.01 8 hours until a very slow and highly hydrated stock isproduced. I then add to the beater any sfjnitable ma terial for softening or tempering the gums or other stiffening agent which was added with the waste material to the beater in,order that the final shoe stitfeners may have sufficient flexibility to bend or fold without breaking or cracking. In the "example now given, I introduce 10 parts by weight of common soap in the form of an aqueous soap solution, which, when precipitated as aluminum soap,will serve the desired purpose. It is desirablealso to fix the gums, which are added with the box-toe waste, upon the fibers of the stock, and for this 0 purpose I also add 5 parts by weight of rosin size, and then, after the soap solution and'the rosin size are thoroughly beaten intoand incorporated inthe fibrous stock, I add a precipitating agent such as alum which has the. effect of precipitating aluminum soap and aluminum resinate which. carry with themQaBd .fi upon the, fibers the jfree par- I be formed into sheets.

' distributed in fine particlesthroughout the ter stiffener, the body of which, is watersheet, the sheet maybe tempered with water so as to render it flexible. 'In the event that it is desired to provide, for example, a counproof and the skived edgeswhich form theeel-s'eat flange are capable ofbein temered with water, the counter stiffener lanks are now out from the 'sheet and are passed between cylindrical calender rolls which are heated to a temperature sufficient to flux and cause the coalescence of the gums which are incorporated in the sheet. W' n this is done, the main body'of the sheet, which isof the-same thickness throughout, is compressed, and' becomes waterproof by the fiuxing and coalescence of "the contained gums,' leaving'the thinner skived-edges porou s, uncompacted and uncondensed. and with practically no fluxing of the conta ned gums. The blanks thus formed may now have their ski-ved edges tempered with water and then molded while cold in theusual pering operation, the water penetratesonly the ski'ved edges of the blanks and does not extend into the main body of theblanks.

It is not necessary, however, that the [blanksshould be out from the sheet so as to leave edges which are capable of'being tempered with water, although, as stated, for some purposes this 'is' highly desirable. The sheet, after being dried, may be passed asa wholefthrough the heated calendering rolls so that the entire sheet is condensedand compacted and the gums therein fiuxed and caused to coalesce. {When in this condition,

' fibers.

, end of the l ,erations.

the counterrstifi'ener blanks may be cut therefrom, and they may be softened by heat to permit'their being moldedby the usual molding machine, ,or, if-'desired, they may be assembled with the upper and heated suffiexible, and then molded to conform to the" ast during the usual lasting op- As. further illustrating the aprocedu-re I which may be followed and as showing that other materialsthan those hereiri referred to may be util zed, I may give'the following examples in which animal matter While in a. gelatinous mass is precipitated oinEthe In this case, I may .use such animal matter as leather, hair,. or both, treated with" caustic soda to form a gelatinous or (:01-

ticles of gum which were added with thei viously; described. 01', if-desired, the hair and leather and caustic soda may be introvduced-into the beater at the same time as the .fiber so that the gelatinous mass is produced during the beating out of the wood pulp.

For the precipitation of the gelatinous mass,"

I noii add 10 parts by we ght of aluminum sulphate which hasthe effect of precipitat ing a gelatinous hydrate intimately mixed with and precipitated on the fibers of the pulp. Then, for the utilization of the boxtoe waste previously described, I add- 20 parts by'weght of such waste after it has been disintegrated in the manner previously referred to. This is thoroughly beaten into the pulpyniass together W1th-l0 parts by weight of finely divided .Montan wax until the mass is practically physically homogeneous. I now add an additional amount of alum, say 5 parts byweight, which assists in precipitating and fixing the gums vand the Montan wax upon the fibers. Ifit be "desired to color the sheet, any suitable pigment may be added atthe same time that the Montan wax is added; For example, I 'have used 4' parts by weight of red iron oxide or l amp-'black, and have used aniline dyes in suitable proportion.

The stock is now formed intb sheets according. to the procedure previously described, and from the dried sheet material the blanks may be cut,ski ved Iand calendered, or the sheet itself may be calendered' and the blanks then cut therefrom and skived. In either-event, after the blanks have been molded into counter stiffeners they have the appearance and {finish of counters made of soleleather. They differ therefrom in the respect that the body portions thereof are waterproof and are notaffected by moisture from the 'foot. A counter stiffener, produced according tothc second example, hasa'further advantage in' that it is resistant ,to oils. Frequently in the manufacture; of shoes, the leather employed in making the upper contains oils or greases which "would act upon asphalts' greases as are contained in the upper leather so far as softening the blanks is concerned.

This gelatinous matter serves excellently as a stiffening agent to keep the main body of' the counter stiffener in a firm stiff resilient condition. 1

What I claim is 1. In the manufacture ofshoe stiffeners adapted to be softened by the application of heat, the grinding,,-While in adry state, of

' waste fibrous scrap conta'ning a thermoplastic stiflening agent, until it is finely divided, beating such disintegrated waste together with other fibrous stock, additional thermoplastic agent and water, then sheeting the resultant pulpy mass with the plastic'stiffening agent, fixing the particles thermoplastic stiffen ng agent, in finely divided condition, distributed throughout the sheet, and'then forming shoestiffener blanks from the sheet.

2. In the manufacturev of shoe stiffeners adapted to be softened by the application 'of heat, grinding dry waste fibrous scrap containing-a thermo-plastic stiffening agent, pulping such ground waste together with fibrous stock and additional thermoplastic agent in water, fixing the particles of thermo-plastic-- agent on said fibers,'then sheeting the pulpy mass on a paper ma chine, and then cutting shoe-stiffener blanks of appropriate size and shape from the sheet.

3. In the manufacture'of shoe-stiffeners adapted to be softened by the application 'of heat, grinding dry waste fibrous scrap of heat, grinding dry waste fibrous scrap p containing a'thermo-plast-ic stiffening agent, pulping such ground wastetogether with fibrous'stock in water, incorporatingin the mass at mater'al for softening the thermokof said stiffening agent on the fibers by pre- ,cipitating a. size'in the pulpy mass then 1 forming said mass into a sheet on a paper machine, and then cutting shoe-stiffener blanks of appropriate size and shape from the sheet, j

W In" the manufacture of shoe .st-iffeners.

adapted to be softened by the application-- of heat, grinding dry .waste fibrousfsfcra containing a thermo-plastic stiffening agen pulping such groundwaste togetherwit fibrousstockin'water, incorporating a sapon-f ifiable inaterial in the mass together with a size, adding'a precipitating agent. to precipitate a soap and the size, then forming the resultingpulpy' mass into a sheet, and then cutting shoe-stiffener blanks from the sheet. 6. In the manufacture of shoe-stiffeners adapted to be softened by the application of heat, grinding waste fibrous material containing a. thermoplastic stiffening compound, pulping such disintegrated material together with paper-making fibrous mate'- rial and a finely divided thermo-plastic compound, fixin the thermo-plastic compounds on said fibers, forming the resultant pulpy mass into a sheet, and then cutting shoe-stiffener blanks fromthe sheet.

7. In the manufacture of shoe stiffeners adapted to be softened by the application of heat, grinding waste fibrous material con taining a thermo-plastic stiffening com pound, pulping such disintegrated material together with paper-making fibrous material and finely divided Montan wax, fixing the particles of said thermo-plastic compound and said Montan wax on the fibers of the .pulp, sheeting the resulting mass, and then cutting shoe-stiffener blanks from the sheet. 8.'In the manufacture of shoe stiifeners adapted to besoftened by the application of heat, grinding 'Waste fibrous material 0011- taining. a thermo-plastic stiffening compound, pulping such disintegrated material together with paper-making fibrous material-- and a finely divided thermo-plastic compound, fixing said thermo-plastic compounds on the fibers by the precipitation of a gelatinous precipitate, forming the mass into a sheet, and then cutting shoe-stiffenerblanks from the sheet.

9. In the manufacture of shoe stiffeners adapted to be softened by the application of heat. grinding waste fibrous material containing a .thermo-plastic stiffening com-f pound, pulping such disintegratedmaterial together, with papermaking fibrous material and a finely divided thermo-plastic comound, adding an animal gelatinous mass to the pulp, precipitating the same in the form 0 a gelatinous hydrate whereby the thermoplastic compounds are caused to ad here to the fibers, then sheeting the pulp, and

then cutting shoe-stiffener blanks from the the same 1s well hydrated, mixing therewith a gelatinous animal matter,.precipitatinga gelatinous hydrate by the addition of aprecipitate. mixing disintegrated waste fibrous material containing a thermoplastic with the pulpy mass together ompound divided Montan wax, mixing a with finely precipitating agent loo llu

into the said mass, 130.

finally forming said mass into a sheet, and a stifi' Water-resistant body portion and a 25 then cutting shoe-stiffener blanks from the sheet. v

11. In the manufacture of shoe stiffeners,

forming'an aqueouspulp of. fibers; a finely "divided thermo-plasticmaterial, and a precipitate by which the particles of thermofplastic material are fixed upon-the fibers,

forming such pulp into a porous sheet and drying the same; cutting shoe stiffener blanks from such sheet, skiyingsuch blanks,

and heating and compressing the unsklvedi' portions of the blanks to cause a coalescence resistant body portion, and having edge porof the thermoplasticparticles therei'n, wl1ere by the body portionsof such blanks are substantially non-absorbent, and the skived- *edges are 'Water-absorbent but may be rendered ater-repellentpn being silbjected to heat and pressure.

'12. A shoe stiffener comprising a Watertions which may be softened by the application of Water.-

.13. A molded shoe: stiffener comprising.

porous skived edge portion adapted tobe made Water-resistant on the application of heat and pressure. i

14:. A molded shoe stillener of appropriate shape "and having a body comprising fibrous material, and'a thermo-plastic material and a precipitate both distributed thrqnghout .the fibrous material, said stifienerbeing Water-repellent andbeing adapted to be softened by the application of heat.

15; A molded feltedfi'brons'shoe stifi'enerof appropriate shape-and having a body adapted to be softened the application of heat, comprising fibrous shoe-stifi'ener waste containing'a'thermo-plastie compound, cellulosic. fibers and a precipitate, all in in-. 'timate mixture, the"precipitate acting to fix the thermo-plasticcontent'of said Waste upon the fibers. r y

In testimony whereof Lhave affixed my signature. v

AL ERT L. CLAPP. 

